Unveiling the Lists

So finally i decided to join the two challenges I mentioned although I've yet to tell the hosts about it. The whole afternoon I listed and crossed out a number of books just to come up with an almost perfect list. Why almost perfect? Because this time I don't intend to have a pool of books for alternates. Really. I know I'm being hardheaded and I'll probably whine and be unable to complete the challenge should my chosen books turn out to be duds. I like Milk Duds. But that's an aside. Also, I did not include already chosen books from my Book Award Reading Challenge list. That way I could hopefully read at least a fourth of my stacks of books. Hopefully.

Quite obviously then I'll be reading books from my ever increasing pile. Oh please let me not see other titles when I go out and do my book hunting sessions inside Book Sale!

But I'm just hoping none of the books I chose are boring. Here then are my picks for the challenges I'm signing up for now.

For the Speculative Fiction Challenge hosted by Renay I'm choosing the category A Theoretical Handbook for the Unseasoned Speculator. Really quirky categories! Technically I'm not an unseasoned speculator but my picks somehow fall from among science fiction, fantasy, magical realism and alternate history as far as I can tell. I could've chosen Skinning Schrödinger’s Cat With Occam’s Razor but I know I'll be reading science fiction other than the ones I'm listing below between now and the next year so I'd rather keep that option flexible and then hopefully finish the six I'm listing here. Duration of the challenge is from NOW to April 1, 2008. They are:

1. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin
2. Wyrms by Orson Scott Card
3. A Scanner Darkly by Phillip K. Dick
4. The Pinhoe Egg by Diana Wynne Jones
5. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury
6. Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe

And of course the What's In A Name Challenge hosted by Annie! This will start next year, from January 1 up to December 31. The endless bloghopping starting from RIPing Yarns allowed me to discover other lovely book blogs and other lovely book challenges. This one is so cute I couldn't resist joining! I was initially worried if there are vegetable names on the list. Or fruits. That would have been difficult. Or easy. I mean, depending on the books that I already own. Anyway, I'm blabbing again. Here are my choices:

1. A book with a color in its title - Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
2. A book with an animal in its title - Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
3. A book with a first name in its title - The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana by Umberto Eco
4. A book with a place in its title - London Fields by Martin Amis
5. A book with a weather event in its title - The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III
6. A book with a plant in its title - Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

I'm giddy. I'm planning to read a lot of books. Heck, I'm already reading a lot of books. Hahaha!